Page 7 of The Mastermind

Howard leaned over to me. “I see why you like the view.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Howard shook his head. “I’m referring to downtown Providence.”

At fifty years old, Howard had a head full of white hair. The olive skin from his Italian bloodline made him look good in a light-gray suit. He looked like a senior citizen from the back, but when you saw his face, you realized he was blessed with handsome features that came with age. It probably helped that he had been happily married for twenty years to Stella.

My German and French lineage gave me a light tan color, but I was fair sitting next to Howard. Besides being my lawyer, he was also a friend, and one of the few people I trusted.

Teresa entered the room and placed a tray full of Pellegrino water bottles and a mug of coffee on the table. “If you need anything else, please let me know.” She slid her business card to me. “If you’d like me to show you around Providence, I’d be happy to.”

My eyebrows rose with intrigue, but I made no promises.

When she left, Howard shook his head. “That’s one aggressive and shameless woman. Does she know why you’re here? That you’ll be her boss soon?”

“Women like her don’t care.” I tucked the business card into my jacket to discard it later. “And I’m not her first, nor her last prey.”

“Do you ever get sick of it?”

“Sick of what?” I knew what Howard meant, but played ignorant. “Women? I love women.”

He rolled his eyes. “Sick of women always welcoming you with open arms. If you wore a ring, they’d stay away and leave you alone.”

“That’s an inconvenience that would cut into my busy schedule. A ring would mean I need to settle down. It would mean being attached to someoneforever. Do I look like someone who wants to beattachedto anyone or anything?” I shuddered. “I thought you knew me well, Howie.”

“People change, especially during rare circumstances.” He shrugged. “I was just curious.”

George re-entered the conference room, and my conversation with Howard ended.

“I apologize for stepping out.” George returned to his seat. “Family emergency. You guys have any kids?”

“If you count my dog,” Howard said.

“No, and I don’t plan on it,” I replied, fully aware that having kids meant attachment.

George laughed and sat across from Howard and me. “Good. I have one grown kid, and he still gives me major headaches.”

“That’s what I hear.” Howard offered a warm smile, pushed aside his laptop, and opened a manila folder on the table.

“Let’s get started,” I said, not wanting to waste time.

Howard reviewed the documents and held up a paper with a list of names. “Are these all of your current employees? I’m cross-checking with the list of employees, and it seems like I’m missing some staff from your management team. I don’t see any documentation of their annual performances or reviews. Do you have them?”

I shot George a lethal look. The man should know the importance of my request. It wasn’t even a difficult one. It was normal procedure to review every detail of an acquisition. Though some might forgo employee data, I wanted everything, and if he couldn’t even do that, I questioned how he had been running his business.

“I meant what I said a month ago. I want Howard to look ateverysingle employee. If you don’t have those names and files today, then you can forget this deal. Lafayette Marketing will sink. You gave me your word, and I gave you mine. Now, deliver.”

Tense lines dug into George’s forehead as he flipped through the papers from Howard’s files. “I . . . Susan might have forgotten the files on her desk. I’ll be right back.”

George swiftly left the room, and I could practically smell the sweat on his body. I had offered to purchase his failing company for a lot of money. My real estate agent had been watching properties in the area and discovered that Lafayette Marketing was in trouble. Since I was fifteen, I’d wanted this building. George had been secretly asking around for interested buyers. I swooped in and bought it for double the asking price. No one would take this location from me. As for the business itself, I’d revamp it and sell it for triple the price, but George didn’t know that.

All George Lafayette had to know was I paid a lot of money, and he had to give me what I wanted. Did he keep the files hidden on purpose? Or was it an honest mistake? Either way, it made him look incompetent. This was a multi-million-dollar acquisition, and I expected all information to be delivered when asked. Was something shady going on with the company? Not that this detail would deter me from purchasing it, but I could use it as leverage to negotiate a better deal.

The corporate world was full of corruption. People wore masks, and it was hard to tell the difference between a friend and a foe. It was safer to view everyone as “foes.”

I turned to Howard. “Did he provide all the other necessary documents?”

Howard nodded as he checked the screen on his laptop.

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